They came, queued, waited, performed and set the place alight; little girls in princess dresses, boys in rap outfits, wannabe girl bands and so many others…

Woodvale's Got Talent

‘Woodvale’s Got Talent’ was the occasion, the first time such an event has been held in the area and it certainly struck a chord in the local community.  ‘Simon Cowell’, ‘Piers Morgan’ and ‘Amanda Holden’ all featured in the show held in Woodvale Presbyterian Church, while UTV’s Frank Mitchell, Julian Simmons and Carolyn Stewart also made special contributions.

With a prize of a day in a recording studio up for grabs, the competition was intense, but after a toughly fought contest little Ashton Coyle won out with her rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Beautiful Nightmare’.    

The event held on the Saturday August 29th was the culmination of a week of community work and outreach spearheaded by a team based at the church.  The vision for the group was to show Love to the community through a host of events, including teenage and kids clubs, acts of random kindness, football club, drop-in events, parties and so much more.

It was a week when stereotypes were broken down; as a whole new bunch of people were drawn towards Church; as kids who caused mayhem were met with love; as a group of hardcore young guys rocked out to the sounds of ‘Jesus Christ’ during a rap set by hiphop act Desert Voice Calling.

One of the young people who got involved in the week’s activities, including the talent show, was 15 year old Charlene.   She says the week has made a ‘huge difference’ in her life: ” I love it because it gives me a break from my normal life.  It’s somewhere that I can talk about things and be who I am and not have to pretend all the time.” 

“Like, I never ever get to talk about my faith and things till the guys come!  It also brings a sense of love and togetherness, it’s somewhere where I actually fit in with people, which isn’t many places.”

While 16 year old Andrew says the week allows him to explore his faith and make new friends: “I love meeting the team and seeing how God uses them to reach out to the kids in our area, good or bad, and I love the banter they bring every year.”

“I love watching them teach kids about God in a relaxed and fun way.  The team makes a huge difference coming into Woodvale and into my life because it’s hard to find a Christian friend here.”

And as those kids stood under the spotlight at ‘Woodvale’s Got Talent’ and shone, I sensed just how empowering an experience this was for them.  As cheers resounded throughout the church and encouragements were uttered I could see the smiles stretched across their faces.  These young people need to have the best called out of them, not the worst, they need to know that they are special and that their lives count.  They need to be validated, not labelled.